Accident Details
The airplane departed from Venice Municipal Airport in Venice, Florida, and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico southwest of the departure end of runway 22. The accident occurred during night visual meteorological conditions.
Witness Observations
Several witnesses on a pier near a restaurant reported hearing the engine operating overhead. They observed the airplane bank and descend rapidly, impacting the water with the engine still running. One witness specifically noted that during the initial climb after takeoff, the engine sounded like it was "sputtering, popping, and missing," and that it momentarily reached full power just before impact.
Wreckage Recovery and Examination
Recovered sections of the airplane included a section from the baggage compartment aft to the tail, the left and right horizontal stabilizer, the rudder, the right spar, the fuselage cabin belly along with the instrument panel, engine and propeller, and the right wing bladder. All recovered components exhibited damage consistent with the impact and subsequent salvage efforts. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preaccident anomalies.
Pilot Information
The pilot held an FAA private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. According to logbook entries, the pilot had accumulated approximately 258.1 total flight hours, including 122.9 hours as pilot-in-command, 50.1 hours of simulated instrument time, and 5.7 hours of night flight experience. A flight instructor with whom the pilot had recently trained indicated that the pilot had completed an additional 34.4 hours of instrument flight training that were not recorded in the logbook. FAA records did not show that the pilot possessed an instrument rating.
Additional Information
No further factual details are available from the source.